Reunion and revealed feelings
by Kazuya-chan
Summary: What if there was another woman on Luffy's crew? And she came from the same village as Luffy and Ace? Rating for chapter 5 and to be safe. COMPLETE!
1. Sadness, memories, hope

disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of it's characters (but I sure wish I owned Ace) and I am not making any money off this story. Shikashi, I own Kasai (not her powers though). Kasai's powers and two bad guys (Adelheid and Rugal Bernstein) belong to SNK-Playmore.

The words in italics are someone's thoughts or they remember someone else saying something.

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**Reunion and reveiled feelings**

**Chapter 1: Sadness, memories, hope**

It was a nice, quiet night; the sea was calm and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Only one figure was on the deck of the Going Merry- a young woman. She had long, auburn hair, that went a little past her shoulders. She was wearing long black pants and a red T-shirt. Her name is Kasai and she was in a sitting position, leaning with her back against the railing. Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper and Robin were in the kitchen probably having dinner, but Kasai wanted to stay on deck a little more to think. It was the perfect time to set her thoughts straight. _"Why am I still waiting? It's been a year now and we still haven't heard anything from him... should I forget him and move on? Should I still wait? I probably won't admit it to anyone but I have feelings for him and maybe that's why I just can't forget him... Damn you Portgas D. Ace, why did you had to have such an impact on me?"_

She closed her eyes and memories started flashing in her head. The first one was of younger versions of herself and Ace (about 14-15 years old) having a fight like they normaly did. No matter how hard they each tried to beat the other, the fights allways ended in a draw. This memory made her smile because it was one of the good ones. The memory fades to black and is replaced by another; when they were in Arabasta, making their way to Yuba, on occasion, Kasai would glanse at Ace, who was on her far right and slightly ahead of her, and she would mentaly kick herself for pushing him away those last four months before he left in search of One Piece. She couldn't even remember the reason she was mad at him. _"Now that I think about it, I may have been eighteen, but I acted like a spoiled ten year old."_ She returned to her memories of their road to Yuba. When she glansed at Ace, every now and again she could see him glansing at her, and when those times came she immediatly brought her gaze back in front of her, but one time, out of the corner of her eye she saw Ace smiling after their gazes met, and the fact that he was smiling at her made her blood boil. Kasai was somewhat a proud young lady and she just wanted to stop in her tracks and yell at him: "JUST WHAT IS SO FUNNY?" But she controled herself and now she was glad she did. The next memory was Ace's fight with Scorpion. She was worried about Scorpion because she knew he didn't have a chace against Ace. But then she saw that Ace didn't use his Devil's Fruit powers against Scorpion and that made her understand that even if Ace was the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates: Second Division, he still had a nobel and fair heart. Her last memory was when Portgas D. Ace and the Straw Hat Pirates went their separate ways: he went after Blackbeard and they were heading for Yuba and after that, Crocodile. Just in the few seconds everyone had their backs turned to say goodbye to Scorpion and his sons, Ace disappeard. Kasai felt some sadness then, and she started to feel sad once more because of that memory, but then she remembered Luffy's words and they brought her hope yet again: _"We'll see him again."_ said Luffy. After that she opened her eyes and looked up at the sky. The moon was so close you could actually touch it. _"I sure hope you're right Luffy, I sure hope you're right."_ was her last thought before she got up. Then, once more she cast her beautiful blue eyes toward the sky.

When she brought her gaze down a bird landed before her feet and had something that looked like an envelope in it's beak. Kasai leaned down to pick up the object and once she had a grip on it the bird let go and flew off. She looked at it; it was an envelope. "Who could this be from?" she asked no one it particular. She turned the envelope to see who the sender was- nothing. She turned it around to see who it was addressed to and it got her thinking... "I wonder what it is?" she asked herself and started to make her way to the kitchen.

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Well, what do you think so far? Please don't flame me all you hardcore Ace fans that don't want to see him paired with anyone... Oh, BTW I'll insert Adelheid and Rugal (in later chapters... DUH) because I kinda lost inspiration on creating some bad guys, so don't think because of that this is a KOF2003 crossover. Well, see y'all later....

Ja ne!


	2. An interesting conversation

disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda and not me... hail to the master! (drops to her knees and starts bowing to her Eiichiro Oda statue)

The action in this chapter is taking place during Kasai's flasbacks... now on with the story...

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**Reunion and reveiled feelings**

**Chapter 2: An interesting conversation**

Everyone was in the kitchen; everyone except Kasai. Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Robin were sitting at the table, Zoro was in a corner leaning against the wall and Sanji just finished preparing dinner. All of a sudden: "I can't take it anymore!" he practecly yelled. "Kasai-chan has been like this for the past two months!" Everyone just stared blankly at him. Then Zoro's voice was heard: "I have to agree with the cook. She's been too distant. I wonder why?"

"I think I know..." said Luffy not looking up from under his straw hat. "WHAT? You mean to say you knew the reason why Kasai has been like this AND YOU DIDN'T SAY A WORD???" Nami could barely keep herself from strangeling Luffy. The captain raised his head, a confused look on his face. "I didn't even notice until Sanji said so right now..." he said in an inocent tone of voice. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDN'T NOTICE?" everyone yelled at him in unition.

For the past two months, every time one of the nakama would talk to her, Kasai would space out. When she was brought back from her thoughts and asked if everything was all right, she would say yes an go somewhere else where she would be alone. But everyone had their doubts about everything being okay... that is, everyone except Luffy. He was the only one that belived her.

"Okay Luffy, tell us why Kasai is like this." said a more calmed Nami.

"Well... she kinda likes Ace..." Their face went blank, especially Sanji's. "NANI?" they all said in unision. "...and Ace likes her. So I guess she's a little under the weather because it's been a year since we met him in Arabasta and she misses him." finished Luffy. Silence fell upon the kitchen. Usopp was the first to speak: "How do you know that Ace likes her?"

"He told me." responded Luffy with an ear to ear smile. "It was when we were younger..."

------FLASHBACK------

Two kids, one about 15 and the other about 11, were walking on an old battered road of dirt. Trees were on each side of the road. The younger one was saying something but the kid next to him wasn't listening.

"Ace... Ace... ACE!" The older one was brought back to reality. "Wha... oh, yeah. What is it Luffy?" he asked his younger brother. "Were you even listening to a thing I said all the way?" asked in reply an irritated Luffy. "Sorry, my mind was somewhere else." apolagised Ace.

"Aperently. I bet I know where it was. You were thinking about Kasai, right?"

"You got me there. I just can't help it."

"You like her, don't you?"

"Well, I guess I do."

"Why not tell her?"

"Hello! Luffy, wake up! We're too young!"

"So what?"

"I think I can wait three more years."

------END FLASHBACK------

Silence fell once more. _"But yet he didn't tell her."_ Sanji thought. "Luffy, Kasai-chan and Ace are the same age, right?" asked Sanji out loud. "Yeah, well, Kasai's two months younger..." before he could finish, he was cut off by Sanji. "Kasai-chan is 22, so that means Ace is 22 also. You said your brother left in search of One Piece three years before you, correct?"

"I don't follow..." said a very confused Luffy. "YOU DON'T NEED TO." snaped Sanji at him. "Now just answer the question."

"Yeah, he left three years before me." replied Luffy, knowing it was best not to get his cook mad.

"How old were you when you left and Ace is how older than you?"

"I was....... seventeen and he's four years older. But I still don't see where this is going."

"SHUT UP! OK. That means you were fourteen and your brother was eighteen. Now I want you to remember exactly how many months after he turned eighteen did he leave."

Luffy mumbled something, his eyes were moving around as if he was thinking (A/N: wow! can he do that?) and after about a minute he spoke: "Nope, can't remember." At this statement, Sanji's face went red with fury and smoke started coming out of his years and nose. Right then, Zoro took a pot, filled it with water and the next thing you know, Sanji's wet to the skin. "Cool off!" said the green haired swordsman with the pot in his hands. "Arigatou, Zoro. I needed that." replied the wet cook.

"Luffy try harder to remember." asked Nami with a very polite tone of voice. A few minutes passed and Luffy got to his feet, right arm raised triumphantly: "AHA! I REMEMBER! Ace left four months after he turned eighteen." said Luffy.

"Now we're getting somewhere." smiled Sanji. "If Ace left 4 months after he turned eighteen, that means he and Kasai-chan were both legitimate adults. Now here's my question: why didn't Ace tell Kasai-chan what he felt after she turned eighteen as well, and before he left?" Everybody was confused again. "Indeed, why didn't Ace do that?" asked Chopper.

"If I remember correctly, Kasai was mad at Ace about something and she didn't talk or even see him for five months." explained Luffy trying to put on his most intelligent looking face while he remembered, but failed miserably.

"FIVE MONTHS?!" yelled everyone. Now that was a shock. "Yeah, but I can't say why..." Usopp was a little upset with Luffy's answer: "And why can't you say?"

"Usopp, some things are better left untold." said Robin, being a little irritated by the long-nosed man's question. "But..." he prefered to dismiss his comment after he received a glare from the Hana Hana Mistress.

"Then I wonder why he didn't tell Kasai while we were in Arabasta?" continued Usopp. "Usopp..." started Nami "... for that kind of confession you need privacy, and we all know there wasn't too much of that!"

"But still I wonder... maybe he doesn't feel anything for her anymore." speculated the marksman.

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" butted in Luffy.

------FLASHBACK------

Luffy and Ace were walking through a backstreet in Nanohana, right after they armwresseled.

"Luffy, when you left, how was Kasai?" asked Ace.

"She was a bit sad because _the only two brothers that truly made her laugh were leaving_ ....... You still like her, don't you?"

"Yeah." his face turns serious "Not a day passed without me thinking about her. Maybe someday I should go try to make peace with her and probably confess my feelings."

Luffy flashed his trademark smile and said: "Don't worry, Ace. If it's meant to be, you'll meet her again." replied the little brother. _"Sooner than you think..."_ said Luffy in his head, his grin getting even bigger.

"Guess you're right Luffy. Now let's go find your nakama. If the marines catch up with them, it'll get pretty troublesome."

------END FLASHBACK------

"I guess Ace still cares for Kasai..." said Nami.

"Quiet!" ordered Zoro. "I hear someone coming." So everyone dropped the main subject and started making small talk, while Sanji started to serve dinner.

The door opened and there she was, in all her beauty, Kasai.

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Kinda long, wasn't it? Sorry, but I had a lot of ideas and didn't quite know which to put in and which to leave out. But thank goodness, I finished it. BANZAI!!! See you at the next chapter.

Ja ne!


	3. That darn letter

disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Oda-sama, not to me. is surrounded by buckets filled with tears WHY GOD?! WHY ME?!?!?!

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**Reunion and reveiled feelings**

**Chapter 3: That darn letter**

When Kasai opened the door, all eyes fell on her. "What??" she asked, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Kasai-chan! You're just in time for dinner!" said Sanji almost singing, but Kasai ignored him. "Luffy, this just came for you." she said heading in Luffy's direction and giving him the letter.

"What is it?" he asked holding up the letter and trying to see through the envelope.

"Do I look like a person that reads other people's mail?" replied Kasai, slightly smiling.

"Here, read!" said Luffy holding the letter out to Kasai.

"Wouldn't you rather read it yourself?" After that question, Luffy gave Kasai one of those glares that reminded you he had nothing in his head. "On second thought.... okay." She took the letter from Luffy and she sat down while opening the envelope.

"_ Dear Captain Straw Hat Monkey D. Luffy.... _ Can anyone be more formal than that?" she joked.

_ Dear Captain Straw Hat Monkey D. Luffy,_

_We are happy to announce you that the Pirate Summit will take place on the 24th of August on Heiso Island in the Grand Line, starting at ten o'clock p.m., and we hope you will honour us with your presence. Also you can bring a guest, but only one. We are sorry if we're a little strict but we are expecting many guests and there may be a slight problem with the space we have._

_With all respect, the Summit Committee._

_P.S.: About your wardrobe; it should be something casual and not too formal because this is a summit but we still are pirates. _

"Well, what do you think of that? Some people really can be polite to pirates..." said Kasai with a smile on her face after finishing the letter.

"Iyada." they heard Luffy say.

"No what, Luffy?" asked Nami.

"I'm not going if I can't take all of you."

"Luffy, do you honestly think anyone of us would want to spend a whole night in the same room with pirates that are our sworn enemies?" asked Usopp.

"But..." he was cut off by Kasai: "If you don't go, all those pirates will think that your afraid or something and it also is a lack of respect for the Summit Committee that prepared everything. Plus, your reason really isn't a reason. Be thankfull that you get to take a guest and that your not going alone!"

"But who am I gonna take?"

"You decide that."

"Okay." replied Luffy with a giant grin.

"Well, I'm off to bed." announced Kasai.

"Wait, Kasai-chan! What about dinner?" asked Sanji.

"Sorry, Sanji. I'm not that hungry, but I am tired." she said and went off.

As soon as Kasai left, Nami said: "Luffy, you have to take Kasai as your guest!"

"Why?" he asked with his allways present confused look.

"Remember what Ace said in Arabasta?" started Nami.

------FLASHBACK------

"Luffy, the next time we meet will be at the Pirate Summit."

------END FLASHBACK------

"He's gonna be there and this is a chance for Kasai to see him and maybe she'll start acting normal again." she continued.

"OH, Nami-san, that's a wonderfull plan!" preased Sanji, his eyes turning into hearts and the smoke from his cigarette as well.

"Arigatou, Sanji-kun. Well, Luffy? Are you going to take Kasai?"

"If it'll make her feel better, sure."

"But what if she doesn't want to go?" asked Robin.

"I'll make her." said Luffy with another grin on his face.

"Are you that convincing?" inquired Robin.

"You have no idea..." said Zoro, remembering the stearing contests he had with Luffy, but allways lost.

The next day, Kasai woke up a little late.

She put on the same pants she had last night and a blose that was down to her navel and went outside to get some fresh air. The sun was shining but it still was cool. Suddenly, she hears someone scream behind her. "ARGH! KASAI, WHAT'S THAT ON YOUR WAIST?" asked a bearly breathing Luffy.

She looked a little confused at Luffy but then realised something. "You mean this? It's a tatoo, Luffy." she said pointing to a lightning bolt shaped tatoo on her waist.

"Whew! I know you have a sun on you stomach, but when did you get that lightning thing?"

"After you left, duh!"

"Kasai-chan! I knew I smelled your parfume! What would like to eat?" asked Sanji, appering out of nowhere.

"Just a salad will be fine. Thank you, Sanji."

Sanji dissapeared as fast as he appeared and after ten minutes he appeares again in front of Kasai to tell her the salad is ready.

Kasai goes and eats peacefully. At the exact moment she swallowed her last mouthful, Luffy entered the kitchen.

"Hey Kasai, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"  
"Would you come with me to the Pirate Summit?" At that request, she froze, looking at Luffy.

After a few seconds, she spoke: "Why me?"

"Because I want you to come." replied the boy.

"Luffy, captains usually take their first mates on these kind of things."

"But Zoro doesn't want to go. Neither does Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper or Robin."

_"Lucky them!"_ Kasai thought. "And what if I don't want to go either?" she asked out loud.

_"Guess there's only one way to make her come."_ thought Luffy. "I'm the captain and that is an order." he said, giving Kasai one of those glares that you couldn't posibly win against.

"All right. Fine. I'll go with you."

"YAY! Thanks Kasai!" said Luffy hugging his friend until all air was out of her.

"Luffy... I... can't... breathe..."

"Oh! Sorry! Ah! There's something else I want to ask you. Last night, when you read the letter, I understood everything except one word. It was something with robe or something..."

"Wardrobe."

"Yeah! Is it a mystery word?" he asked smiling.

"Uhh... no. It means clothes, what you wear. Do you have the letter?"

"Yeah."

Luffy gave Kasai the letter and she opened it.

"_ Casual and not too formal... _" she read.

"What does that mean?" asked Luffy.

"It means you should find yourself something like Sanji's clothes."  
"Did someone call my name?" He apperead to be singing again.

Both Luffy and Kasai sweatdropped. _"Where does this guy come from?"_ was Kasai's thought.

"cough cough Sanji, just the man I wanted to see! Can you come a little closer?"

"HAAAI, Kasai-chan."

Sanji got closer and Kasai positioned him in a way, but he didn't know what was going on.

"Okay Luffy, now study how you should look."  
Luffy started walking around Sanji, and that made the cook uncomfortable.

"What's going on, Kasai-chan?" he asked.

"I'm just showing Luffy how he should dress for the Pirate Summit."

"I have an idea now, but I don't have anything that's even close to what Sanji wears."

"Don't worry, Luffy. I'll help you find something when we get to the island. I need to get myself something too."

"Okay."

The day passed with no unordinary events and it was already night; everyone was in the kitchen, having dinner.

"Nami, when will get to that island? What was it's name?" asked Luffy.

"Heiso. And we have two options. First, if we continue during the day with normal day speed and during the night with normal night speed, we'll be there the day after tomorrow at about noon. And second, if we continue during the day and the night at normal day speed, we'll be there the day after tomorrow in the early hours of the morning. Either way, we'll arrive on the 24th, before ten o'clock, when the Summit begins."

"Well, Luffy, it's your call." said Kasai, looking at Luffy.

"I wanna get there as soon as posible." he said.

"Aye, captain." responded Nami.

After that they continued with their meal, and then they went to bed.

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Here's the explanation I can give you for this "Heiso Island". I wanted to make an island that was normal (because we all know there aren't too many of those in the Grand Line): no giant creatures that terorise the inhabitants, not too much love for pirates (like Wiskey Peak) but they still are tolerated (the Summit is taking place on this island). I just wanted an ordinary island (heiso -> japanese=ordinary).

One more thing, this is the last chapter I'm giving you because I'm a nice girl (which I am) and without expecting anything in return. I thank the two reviewers that care about my feelings (OPObsession and OniGiri--- you're the best). To post the fourth chapter I want not an absurd amount of reviews, five are enough. I'll be waiting.

See ya!


	4. Getting ready

disclaimer: The only character I own in this story is Kasai. Who would think I owned One Piece, when I hardly own the clothes on my back or my room?

**Reunion and reveiled feelings**

**Chapter 4: Getting ready**

The next day wasn't too special. Sanji was all over Nami, Robin and Kasai, Zoro was training, Luffy was on the sheep's head trying to imagine how the Summit was going to be, Usopp was telling Chopper stories of how he fought a giant cat-fish, or how he sliced and diced a humongous, man-eating sea cucumber when he was three years old; and Chopper, being the naive little reindeer that he is, belived him.

Before anyone knew it, the sun had set and the crew was in the kitchen having dinner.

"Listen up everybody! Tonight, the watches will be longer, and also, Luffy and Kasai won't stand watch." said Nami.

"YAY!" cheared Luffy, jumping up and down.

"Uhh, Nami, why is that?" asked a little confused Kasai.

"Well, you and Luffy need to rest very well because you're not gonna sleep a day and a night. That's why." explained Nami. "I'll stand first, then Robin, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and last will be Chopper. Now everybody, hit the sack. If you need me, I'll be in the crow's nest." she instructed and everyone went off.

The next morning, Kasai was woken up by a high-pitched voice that clearly belonged to Chopper, and then came a few knocks on the door: "We're here! Wake up! We've arrived!"

"Is it morning already?" half asked-half moaned Kasai, not liking the way she was woken up.

"Come on, Kasai, Robin. Rise and shine!" said Nami coming in.

"When did you get up?" asked Robin, being a little surprised at seing that Nami wasn't in her pijamas when she came in.

"I woke up a few hours ago. Sorry, I'm the one that sent Chopper to wake you up." said the navigator.

"Well, since we're up, I guess there's no point in staying here anymore." said Kasai, now full awake.

Kasai and Robin got dressed and went on deck. Once they walked outside the door to the girls' room, they looked at eachother and sighed in unition; there was no sign that the sun was going to start coming up. Kasai started walking towards the front of the ship, leaned on the railing and looked in the distance.

"Looks like we'll reach the island in a few hours, right Nami?" she asked the orange haired girl that was now next to her.

"Yep." replied Nami.

"Might as well eat something while we wait to get there." said Kasai.

And so they were served breakfast by Sanji in about half an hour. After they finished, everybody went on deck and started getting ready to anchor at the docks.

"Nami, I'm taking Luffy to see if we can find something for him to wear to the Summit and I don't know if we'll be back soon." said Kasai to Nami after they docked.

"Okay. Have fun you two!" replied Nami.

And so, Kasai and Luffy went off to search for stores with clothing, and the others went to visit this Heiso Island.  
It was past two o'clock and Kasai and Luffy were still searching. They found some promising wardrobes, but eather they were too expensive, eather they were too large and there weren't any smaller numbers or viceversa.

"This island sure is big. I've never seen so many stores on one piece of land!" exclaimed Kasai.

"There's another one." pointed out Luffy.

"Okay, let's go see."

Once inside, they started searching something for Luffy. Kasai chose a few things and told Luffy to try them on. He did, they all fit but the one he liked most was the last one because he could really move while dressed in it: black silk pants and a silk shirt that was the same colour as his straw hat.

After that, Kasai started looking around the store for a promising wardrobe for herself and something caught her eye really fast. She took it and went to try it on. After she got out of the dressing room, Luffy's mouth practecly dropped to the floor. She was wearing a turcoise long skirt that had at the basis dark blue flames and two splits in the sides from her hips down. Under the skirt she had a pair of pants of the same colour as the skirt with the same flames at the basis of each leg. On her torso she had a jacket that was the same shade of turcoise and had dark blue flames at the basis of the sleaves and at the waist. The jacket was a little above her navel so the two tatoos she had could be seen with no problem.

"Well, how do I look?" she asked Luffy.

"I can't describe how beautiful you look..." replied the boy after he put his mouth back into place.

"Thanks. I'm buying it. You're remaining at the silk pants and shirt, right?"

"Yep."

Kasai paid for the clothes and they started making their way back to the Going Merry. Once there, they both took a shower and it was almost time to leave. They got dressed but Luffy was ready before Kasai and he was waiting for her on deck. When she came out everyone's mouths dropped. She was wearing the clothes she bought earlier, a pair of shoes that were the same dark blue as the flames on the skirt, pants and jacket, and her hair was tied up in a tight pony tail, Vivi style.

"Kasai-chan, are you sure you're not an angel or a godess?" asked Sanji kneeling in front of her and holding her hand as if he wanted to propose.

"Uhh, yes Sanji. I'm pretty sure I'm human." she replied looking at him a little strangely, then took her hand back and walked past him.

"You look great Kasai." said Zoro.

"Thank you, Zoro."

"Wow! Zoro making compliments to a woman! Strange things do happen!" said Nami and Usopp in unition.

"Well, ready to go?" asked Luffy coming up to Kasai.

"Yeah! I'm ready." she replied, and they both went off.

As they were walking on the street, making their way toward the building where the Summit was going to take place, each and every pedestrian, male and female, were looking at Kasai, admiring her beauty, but she just ignored them.

_"Everybody's staring at her. And I'm not surprised, she's the most beautiful woman I've seen so far."_ thought Luffy. _"I can hardly wait to see Ace's face when he sees her."_ he continued in his thoughts, a grin making it's way on Luffy's face.

"What's so funny?" asked Kasai, seeing him smile.

"Nothing. I just remembered something Usopp did before we met you." said Luffy, hoping Kasai would buy it.

"Wanna share?" she asked.

"No, you wouldn't find it that funny." he desperatly tried to find an excuse.

"Okay. If you don't wanna, I won't force you."

Luffy was releived at that reply, and they continued to the Summit building.

Okay, this chapter was kinda short and lame, but the fun stuff is gonna start from chapter 5. So review and I shall continue.


	5. The deep breath before the plunge aka Th...

disclaimer: Kasai belongs to me, One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda and Adelheid Bernstein belongs to SNK-Playmore. Got that?

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**Reunion and reveiled feelings**

**Chapter 5: The deep breath before the plunge a.k.a. The silence before the storm**

They kept walking a little more and people kept turning their heads and looking at the young woman that was with Luffy.

"Look Luffy! That's the Summit building!" said Kasai pointing at a one story high building that clearly was the entrance because behind it was a really big hall.

"Wow! It's huge!" exclaimed Luffy.

When they got to the entrance, the guards recognized Luffy and let him and Kasai enter.

"I wonder how they knew who I was?" said Luffy.

"When you have a 100.000.000 bellie bounty on your head, people tend to recognize you, Luffy." replied Kasai, smiling. "The Summit Committee wasn't kiddning when they said there might be some problems with the space." said Kasai when they entered the hall and after she saw how many pirates there were. But the thing that surprised her more was the fact that there was a good number of women in there.

Luffy and Kasai took only a few steps and already two pirates were in front of them, took both Kasai's hands and kissed them, after which they introduced themselves and talked very politely to both Kasai and Luffy.

Meanwhile, in the far left, Alvida was talking to Ace; well, she was actually flirting and he was playing along for now. But his gaze strayed from Alvida and he saw Kasai. That moment, all his other sences went numb. He only saw the auburn haired beauty and he felt that his heart could burst out of his chest.

"Ace-san, is everything alright?" asked Alvida, snaping him back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, yes, everything's fine. Please excuse me, I have to talk to someone." he replied and left.

Kasai was getting a little uncomfortable. There's only one thing scarier than a polite pirate and that's two polite pirates. However, Ace appeared out of nowhere.

"Don't you two ever stop trying to woo every beautiful woman you see?" he asked them with his arms over their shoulders and smiling at the same time.

"We weren't trying to woo her, ehehe..." nervously responded one of them.

"Whatever, I think I hear Alvida calling you."

"Really? Yes, Alvida-sama! We're coming!"

And they ran to where Alvida was.

"What's wrong, Kasai? Don't you like people to be polite to you?" asked Ace because he saw she was uncomfortable,

"I'm not used to people being polite without trying to get me into their beds." she replied bitterly.

"SAY WHAT?" screamed Luffy.

"Don't worry. Now they'll think twice about doing that again." she reassured him.

"Phew. You had me scared for a minute there." said Luffy.

"Excuse me, miss Alvida wishes to speak to you." said a man coming up to them and addressing himself to Kasai.

"Well, looks like I have a talk with a vixen." she told Luffy and Ace before she headed into Alvida's dirrection.

"Yes, Alvida. What is it?"

"You have some nerve doing what you just did."

"What are you talking about?" Kasai was visibly confused.

"Don't play dumb, Jade Flames."

Kasai was really surprised at hearing the nickname she got because of her power.

"Surprised because I know who you are? Listen here; I've never lost a man to any woman and if you don't back off, more people will know who you really are." threatened Alvida.

"I could care less what you tell to anyone, but this threat says that you are afraid of me. Now you listen; I'll tell what other people have told me. You'd better keep an eye on your title of "Most beautiful woman in the four Blues" because I just might take it from you." Kasai spat back at Alvida.

"You should learn to respect people that are older than you..."

"Yes Alvida. You are older than I am. Keep that in mind."

"Do you know what my oppinion on you is?" asked Alvida crossing her arms over her chest.

"Let me say one more thing before you start, Alvida. Oppinions are like assholes, everybody's got one, and they all stink." replied Kasai and then she left leaving Alvida with smoke coming out of her ears.

Kasai kept walking until she reached the right side of the hall where there was a long table with food and some big bouls of punch. She took a glass, filled it with punch and started to drink, not turning to face the middle of the room.

"Did you have a bad talk with Alvida?" asked Ace aproaching her.

"Gee, how did you realize that?"

"You're drinking."

"Don't get me wrong, I totally despise the woman."

While they were talking, Kasai didn'y look at Ace and that made him feel bad.

"Kasai, listen. It's obvious that you're still mad at me for that night. I'm so sorry."

Kasai put her glass down, hands next to it and leaned on them. She closed her eyes and started remembering.

------FLASHBACK------

"MOM, DAD, MAYA! WAKE UP! PLEASE!" yelled a little girl at three dead bodies.

"Your parents and your sister are dead. Give it up." said the man that murdered Kasai's family. "Your sister was good. I wonder if you're as good as she was. Come here little girl." he took her arm and threw her on the bed.

Kasai struggled, but what could a ten-year-old girl do against a full grown man? All she could do was clench her teeth, keep her eyes shut and hope the pain would soon be over. But it wasn't like that. The man didn't stop until she screamed in pain. When she did, he was satisfied and he stopped, after which he left.

A little while after, Kasai got up from the bed and left the house. She could barely stand and she was bleeding like crazy but the poor girl started to make her way to the village. Why that man didn't kill her was still an unanswered question.

Her next memory shows her and Ace in her new house. They were yelling at eachother.

"You're the one that can't beat me, a girl!"

"Well, I'm not the one that couldn't protect herself from being raped!" came Ace's reply.

"Get out! Get out NOW!" yelled Kasai.

Ace did what he was told. The second he closed the door, Kasai dropped to her knees, her face in her hands and started crying.

------END FLASHBACK------

Those memories were the most painful ones Kasai had and she wished she could forget them but she couldn't.

"I had no right to say what I said. Please forgive me."

"Ace, just shut up!" she said raising her right hand making him do what she said.

"I guess it's no use. Well, I'm probably the last person you want to talk to. I'm not gonna bother you from now on." and he turned to leave.

"Before you go, hear me out." for the first time since only the two of them were talking, Kasai looked at Ace. "I should be apolagising too."

"What?"

"I had a right to be angry, but not five months. You tried to apolagise the day after our arguement but I acted like a total bitch. It's my turn to ask for your forgivness."

"Kasai, I was never upset at you for that. You don't need to ask for forgivness." said Ace with a suthing tone of voice.

"Neither do you." replied Kasai, showing a true smile.

Just then, _"Glory- kimi ga iru kara"_ started playing.

"If I remember correctly, this was your favourite song." said Ace.

"It still is." replied Kasai.

"Then, may I have this dance?" he asked, extending his hand.

"Sure, why not?" she said, taking Ace's hand and letting him take her to the dance floor.

While they were dancing Kasai said: "Ace, everybody's looking at us."

"They're looking at you, because you're so beautiful." he replied.

Kasai could swear she heard some men say: _"This guy has all the luck. Why can't we get a woman like that?"_ and it was making her smile.

Luffy also saw them and he said to himself: "Looks like she's forgiven Ace. They do make a nice couple."

The song ended and Ace and Kasai went back into the croud. Suddenly, a part of the ceiling came down and through the hole came a young man. He was blond and had dark green pants, boots, a sleevless shirt and a pair of dark green fingerless gloves.

"Where are you, Jade Flames?" he was still in the air and looking through the croud.

While he landed, something lifted Kasai into the air and brought her in front of the young man. Ace tried to grab her but an invisible wall was placed between the croud and the blond boy and Kasai. Immediatly, Luffy was by his older brother's side.

"Who is that?" asked Luffy.

"I have no idea, but he's got something to do with Kasai." replied Ace.

"Who are you?" asked Kasai the young man in front of her.

"Don't you see a resemblance to anyone?" he teased her.

"No, I don't." she replied coldly.

"My name is Adelheid... Bernstein."

Her eyes widened: "Nani? Bernstein?"

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Told you the good stuff starts in this chapter, didn't I?

That whole "Oppinions are like assholes, everybody's got one, and they all stink" quote doesn't belong to me. It's from "Fallout 2". I liked it a lot and thought I could use it in my story.

You know what I want to continue, don't you? So push that nice little purple button and leave a review.

Ja ne!


	6. Past meets present

disclaimer: Adelheid, Rugal, Adelheid's attacks and also Kasai's attacks belong to SNK-Playmore. One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda.

I'll be calling Adelheid just Adel. It's shorter.

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**Reunion and revealed feelings**

**Chapter 6: Past meets present**

Kasai couldn't help but be shocked. Could this young man be who he says he is?

"I'll spear you the time to think. Yes, I am Rugal Bernstein's son. And I think you know why I'm here." said the blond man.

"Enlighten me...." replied Kasai.

"You killed my father. I'm here to return the favor."

Just then, he stretched his arms, took them to his back and then brought them in front of him. A grey energy sphere formed and Adel shot it at Kasai. She dodged by rolling under it and the sphere hit the wall. Kasai was on one of her knees and looked at the wall that was the victim of the sphere: there was a huge hole in it. Just then she heard Adel say "Kaiser Wave" and when she turned to face him an energy wave hit her straight on and she dropped to the ground.

"KASAI!" yelled both Ace and Luffy.

The other pirates, seeing this young man's power decided they loved life and started getting as away from the Summit Building as possible.

Kasai slowly got up and started smiling.

"Is this all Rugal Bernstein's son can do?" she taunted him.

Adel got mad and shot two more smaller energy waves. One from the floor up to Kasai's knees and the other was from her neck and slightly went above her head. She jumped over the first one and when the second one came, she bent her body in mid air so that she wouldn't get hit. But Adel shot another wave right after Kasai jumped over the first one, this wave being from the floor up to Kasai's head. She could do nothing to avoid it and she was hit.

Kasai fell once more to the floor. The most damage was done to her torso, where her jacket was completely ripped off. Luckily she had a T-shirt under that jacket.

She started to get up again.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" Luffy tried to get past the wall that was between him and his brother and Kasai, but to no avail.

"It's no use, Luffy. You can't get past that wall." said Kasai looking at him and Ace after she got to her feet.

"Jade Flames, I'm disappointed!" Kasai turned to where Adel was, but he was no longer there. "You of all people should know that it's not wise......" she turned to look in the other direction, nothing. "...... to not pay attention to your opponent!" she looked up slowly and a pair of feet met with her chest and stomach, and she was plunged into the ground.

"KASAI!!!!" Luffy and Ace thought of the worst.

Adel got off Kasai. He took her by the neck and raised her. But he didn't squeeze his hand; maybe he wanted to make Kasai die a painful death or maybe he was thinking how could she kill his father if she couldn't beat him.

Suddenly, Kasai grabbed Adel's arm, kicked him in the stomach and then threw him over her shoulder.

Luffy and Ace were speechless. She was still alive.

Kasai was breathing hard and looking at Adel.

"Maybe you won't believe me, but I never wanted to kill your father. I found out he was killing innocent people and I went to talk to him; maybe I could have convinced him to stop. But he didn't want to listen; he attacked me and I had to protect myself. I never intended this to happen." she confessed.

"You liar! DIE!" and Adel rushed at Kasai, ready to continue the fight. Kasai got in a defensive stance and Adel seeing this, he grabbed her with his arm. He turned around and rushed towards the wall he came from and smashed Kasai into it. She wanted to scream from the pain but all the air was knocked out of her lungs and she desperately tried to replace it. Adel let her go and Kasai slid down the wall and she dropped to one side.

Ace and Luffy couldn't believe it. Kasai wasn't moving nor did she show any signs of breathing.

"_Come on, Kasai! Get up!_ "said Ace in his mind.

"You bastard! You killed her!" yelled Luffy at Adel.

"She was hardly worth the effort." replied Adel coldly.

Just then, a green light started to glow around Kasai; she started to get up.

"Finally! You're not gonna hold back any more!" said Adel pleased and he charged at her.

Kasai brought her leg up faster than anyone could see and kicked Adel in the chin, sending him into the air. When he was coming down and he was in reach, Kasai did the same thing two more times, but this time her leg was covered in jade flames. Adel fell to the floor and his clothes were on fire.

He managed to put out the fire and got to his feet. He charged at Kasai once again. Kasai brought her hands in front of her and made a big jade ball of flames, which she sent at Adel. It hit him straight on and she threw two flame waves at him too. Adel fell to floor, unable to move.

The fire that was on him extinguished itself. Adel looked at Kasai.

"You may have won now, but I'll return. I won't rest until I avenge my father!" and a gast of wind picked him up and he was gone.

Kasai remained looking after him. "_Please, understand._ "

The invisible wall disappeared.

Just then, Kasai started to feel really weak. Her vision became dark and she started to collapse. Before she could hit the ground, Ace caught her.

Kasai could hear Luffy and Ace calling her, but her hearing was soon gone.

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Sorry for taking so long to update, but first year of highschool is murder. I'll try to update again really soon, I promise.

Now y'all take care, ya hear?


	7. Decision to live

disclaimer: I'm kinda running out of ideas how to say One Piece doesn't belong to me.

**----------------------------------------------------------**

**Reunion and revealed feelings**

**Chapter 7: Decision to live**

Kasai felt something soft against her skin. She opened her eyes and saw it was grass. She got up and looked around: she was in a field of grass and flowers and in the distance she could see a rainbow.

"Where am I?" she asked herself as she started walking.

She reached a river with crystal-clear water. It wasn't deep and she wanted to cross it. Just then she heard a familiar voice.

"Don't cross it!"

Kasai turned around and she saw the two people she never thought she would see again.

"Mom! Dad!"

"Don't cross the river, Kasai. It's not your time yet." said her mother.

"What do you mean?"

"You are at the border between the living world and Heaven. If you cross that river, you leave everything and everyone close to you behind. Go back! It's not the time for you to come with us!" continued her father.

"But I want to! I want to be with you!" said Kasai.

"And would you leave all your friends?" said another familiar voice.

"Maya! "said a very surprised Kasai.

"Before you make any decisions, listen to this." said her sister.

Kasai paid attention. She could hear Robin's voice.

"_WHAT? Chopper, you said she'll be alright! Now you say she's dieing?"_

Then came Chopper's voice: _"I can't explain what's happening. One minute she was fine and the next, her pulse goes down and she' getting colder by the second!"_

"_You listen here, Kasai! Don't you dare die! If you think of giving up on fighting, you're the same as the ones how kill themselves. You'd better come back to us!"_

"What was that?" Kasai asked Maya.

"Shhh, keep listening" said Maya.

Kasai could now hear Luffy's voice. He was sobbing: _"Please, God! Don't take her! I know I should have helped her; I know I should have tried harder to help her. I won't ask anything else of You. I'll protect her with my life from now on, but please save her!"_

When she heard him sobbing, Kasai felt tears going down her cheeks.

She continued to listen and the next voice was Ace's.

"_Kasai, I know you can hear me. You can fight this; it's not like you to give up on life. I know you can win. Come back... the crew needs you... Luffy needs you... I need you..."_

At these last words, Kasai fell to her knees, tears still falling.

"This is what you will leave behind if you choose to come with us. Is it worth it, Kasai?" asked Maya.

Her mother approached her. She looked into Kasai's eyes and said:

"Go back to them. They need you more than we do."

And her family crossed the river and they disappeared.

Kasai got up, she whipped the tears from her eyes and started walking in the direction opposite the river.

"_Mom, dad, Maya, you're right. I can't leave all my friends behind. From now on, I'll cherish every moment I spend with them."_

And Kasai started to disappear from the field.

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Well, what do you think?

Come on, push that nice little button and leave a review. You know want to......

Ja ne!


	8. The longed moment

disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or anything from it!

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**Reunion and revealed feelings**

**Chapter 8: The longed moment**

At first there was darkness but soon everything started to take shape. Her vision was still blurry but she recognized the room... she was on the Going Merry.

Kasai got into a sitting position but she started to feel dizzy; she covered her face with her hands and started massaging her forehead.

The door opened but she didn't hear it: "Kasai!"

When she saw who it was she smiled: "Ace!"

He closed the door and approached her: "Thank God you're all right!"

"I also have to thank all of you and my family." she replied.

"Your family? You saw them?"

"Yes. And they were the ones that made me listen to what you and the others said."

"Yokata." said Ace.

"I suppose you want to know about my powers... Do you remember anything about the Jade Mera Mera no Mi?"

"Well, long ago it was as common as any Akuma no Mi but it got more and more rare until it became extinct."

"Until it was THOUGHT extinct. There still are a few left. I found one, but not knowing it was an Akuma no Mi, I ate it. That's how I got the powers I have."

"More important right now is that you're okay!"

"And I have you guys to thank for that."

"What are friends for, eh?"

At that remark, Kasai's face turned sad and she took her gaze from Ace: "Yeah... friends..."

Ace cupped her face with one of his hands and turned her head to face him. When their gazes met once more, their lips touched in a soft kiss; they both longed for this moment. Kasai, acting on impulse, was pushing herself toward Ace and soon she found herself on top of him, on the floor.

The kiss ended and they stayed embraced a few minutes, until Ace remembered Kasai wasn't the healthiest woman in the Grand Line. That's when he got up, picked Kasai into his arms and put her back into bed.

He covered her and kissed her once more: "You have no idea how gland I am that you're all right! The others will be too. I'll go get them."

And he left the room in search for the Straw Hat Crew, leaving Kasai smiling because her dream came true.

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Tell me, did you like it or did you like it?

I know, the last two chapters were kinda short... I didn't have any more ideas... I kinda consumed them all in the beginning chapters, but I think it turned out okay? What do think?


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